Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television. When aired in the UK, the television series was retitled Gun Law.

The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961, and John Dunning writes that among radio drama enthusiasts “Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time.” The television version ran for 20 seasons from 1955 to 1975, and was the United States’ longest-running prime time, live-action drama with 635 episodes. In 2010, Law & Order tied this record of 20 seasons. At the end of its run in 1975, Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith wrote “Gunsmoke was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the west. Our own Iliad and Odyssey, created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp western as romanticized by Buntline, Harte, and Twain. It was ever the stuff of legend.”

The Red Tent

IMDb: 5.7

2014

90min

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible her life is only hinted at during a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons in the Book of Genesis. Told through Dinah’s eloquent voice, this sweeping miniseries reveals the traditions and turmoil of ancient womanhood. Dinah’s tale begins with the story of her mothers: Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that are to sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah tells us of the world of the red tent, the place where women were sequestered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and illness; of her initiations into the religious and sexual practices of her tribe; of Jacob’s courtship with his four wives; of the mystery and wonder of caravans, farmers, shepherds, and slaves; of love and death in the city of Shechem; of her half-brother Joseph’s rise in Egypt, and of course her marriage to Shechem and it’s bloody consequences.

V

IMDb: 7.6

1983

197min

It debuted in 1983 as the two-part television miniseries V, written and directed by Johnson. It was followed in 1984 by a three-part miniseries, V: The Final Battle, and a one-hour weekly television series, V during the 1984-85 television season.

A number of novels, comic books, video games and other media have been spun off from the franchise. Johnson’s novel V: The Second Generation, an alternative sequel to the first miniseries which disregards V: The Final Battle and V: The Series, was released on February 5, 2008. Johnson claimed he was in negotiations for a TV adaptation of his sequel novel, but in October 2008, Warner Bros. Television announced they were producing a complete remake of V instead. This new V series ran for two truncated seasons on ABC, from November 3, 2009 to March 15, 2011.

Star Wars: Clone Wars

IMDb: 6.4

2003

3min

Star Wars: Clone Wars is an Emmy Award- and Annie Award-winning American animated microseries set in the Star Wars universe.

Chronologically, the series takes place during the three-year time period between the prequel films Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The show depicted the actions of various characters in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, and other Knights of the Jedi Order during the conflict, leading the clone trooper forces of the Galactic Republic against the battle droid armies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Sith.

The series was produced by Cartoon Network Studios in association with Lucasfilm Ltd., and was aired both online and on Cartoon Network in 25 chapters from 2003 to 2005. The first two seasons, comprising Volume One, were produced in a two to three minute “micro” format, while season three was produced as fifteen minute episodes making up Volume Two. Both volumes were later released on home video edited as feature length films. It was ranked 21 on IGN’s Top 100 Animated Series list. Entertainment Weekly ranked the series 20th out of 25 of the best science-fiction films or television of the past 25 years.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

IMDb: 7.1

1964

60min

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement agency called U.N.C.L.E. Originally co-creator Sam Rolfe wanted to leave the meaning of U.N.C.L.E. ambiguous so it could be viewed as either referring to “Uncle Sam” or the United Nations. Concerns by the MGM Legal department about possible New York law violations for using the abbreviation “U.N.” for commercial purposes resulted in the producers clarifying that U.N.C.L.E. was an acronym for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. Each episode of the television show had an “acknowledgement” credit to the U.N.C.L.E. on the end titles.

Rick and Morty

IMDb: 8.6

2013

22min

Rick is a mentally-unbalanced but scientifically-gifted old man who has recently reconnected with his family. He spends most of his time involving his young grandson Morty in dangerous, outlandish adventures throughout space and alternate universes. Compounded with Morty’s already unstable family life, these events cause Morty much distress at home and school.

Zoo

IMDb: 5.7

2015

43min

Set amidst a wave of violent animal attacks sweeping across the planet, a young renegade scientist is thrust into a race to unlock the mystery behind this pandemic before time runs out for animals and humans alike.

Iron Man: Armored Adventures

IMDb: 6.7

2009

30min

Iron Man: Armored Adventures is a 3D CGI cartoon series based on the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man. It debuted in the USA on the Nicktoons on April 24, 2009, and has already begun airing on Canadian network Teletoon. Iron Man: Armored Adventures aired on Nickelodeon on July 4, 2009 until September 12, 2009. The series is story edited by showrunner Christopher Yost, who also worked on Wolverine and the X-Men, and numerous other Marvel Animation projects. The television show is not related to the 2007 animated film The Invincible Iron Man; It has a different voice cast, but some story elements are similar and the show uses the same musical score as the film in some instances. It is the first Iron Man television series since Iron Man from 1994–1996, and started airing after the success of the live action Iron Man film.

The series follows the adventures of teenage child prodigy Tony Stark and his alter ego of Iron Man. As Iron Man, he uses his technological inventions to fight various similarly technologically advanced threats. His friends, James “Rhodey” Rhodes and Pepper Potts help him on his courageous, and dangerous adventures.

My Babysitter’s a Vampire

IMDb: 5.5

2011

25min

My Babysitter’s a Vampire is a 2011 Canadian television series, based on the television film of the same name. In Canada, the series premiered in French on Télétoon on February 28, 2011, in English on Teletoon on March 14, 2011, and on Disney Channel in the United States on June 27, 2011. The show was created by Fresh TV, creators of 6teen and Total Drama. The show follows Ethan Morgan, who, in the television film, learns that his babysitter Sarah is a vampire. In the film, he learns he is able to have visions and his best friend Benny Weir is a spellmaster. The series follows the three as they take on supernatural forces and have adventures, with occasional help from fellow vampires Rory and Erica, while dealing with the troubles of regular high school life.

A second season was confirmed to start production in September 2011 and it first premiered on Disney Channel on June 29, 2012, it premiered on Teletoon September 6, 2012. Télétoon started featuring season 2 sneak-peak episodes on October 28, 2012 and premiered it on January 10, 2013. On September 18, 2013 Fresh TV Inc. said that there will be no season 3 as of now, but they are exploring a possible second movie.

The Boondocks

IMDb: 7.8

2005

22min

The Boondocks is an American adult animated sitcom on Cartoon Network’s late night programming block, Adult Swim. The series premiered on November 6, 2005 and was created by Aaron McGruder, based upon McGruder’s comic strip of the same name. The show begins with an African-American family, the Freemans, having moved from the South Side of Chicago, Illinois to the fictional, peaceful and mostly white suburb of Woodcrest. The perspective offered by this mixture of cultures, lifestyles, socioeconomic classes, stereotypes, and races provides for much of the comedy and conflict in this series.

There have been a total of 45 episodes over the course of the shows first three seasons. The two part season two finale “The Hunger Strike” and “The Uncle Ruckus Reality Show” was never aired on American television as Adult Swim feared legal actions against them from BET. Both episodes were aired on Teletoon and were released on DVD in the United States. The season three episodes “Pause” and “The Story of Jimmy Rebel” have been pulled from general episode rotation following the television debuts and no longer appear in reruns. A fourth season containing twenty episodes has been announced to air in January 2014.

Aaron Stone

IMDb: 7.5

2009

30min

Aaron Stone is a live-action, single-camera adventure series created by Bruce Kalish. Originally broadcast with the launch of Disney XD on February 13, 2009. It was the first original series to air on the network.

The series is about a teenager named Charlie Landers who is enlisted to become the real-life counterpart of his world-renowned avatar Aaron Stone from the fictional video game Hero Rising. The series also stars David Lambert, Tania Gunadi and J. P. Manoux. Unlike most of Disney’s live-action shows, Aaron Stone features a darker tone with complex storyline.

Production for the first season ran from June 2, to December 19, 2008. The first season aired on Disney XD from February 13, to November 27, 2009. On May 5, 2009, Disney announced that the show had been renewed for a second season. Kelly Blatz confirmed via Twitter account that production for the second season began on June 22, 2009.

On November 11, 2009 in a Live Ustream chat with J. P. Manoux, Tania Gunadi and Bruce Kalish, it was announced that Aaron Stone would not be renewed for a third season, with the second season being its last. The given reason was that Disney XD has made the decision to put more emphasis on live-action programming that is primarily comedy-based. This announcement was made before season one was concluded in the United States. A total of 14 episodes were produced for the second season premiering on February 24, 2010. The last remaining 8 episodes began airing on June 16 and concluded on July 30, 2010. As of 2012, Disney XD discontinued airing reruns of Aaron Stone in the United States.